Imaging Radars: All Weather Reliable Sensors for Assisted & Autonomous Tech

Rakesh Kumar

Founding Director Steradian Semiconductors

Rakesh Kumar has experience in developing complete soluƟ on including Firmware & Systems. Rakesh led the WLAN RF for 2 generaƟ ons in TI. He has co-authored 2 IEEE papers and holds 8 issued US patents.

What is an Imaging Radar?

The self-driving car industry is developing rapidly & there is an immense focus on the autonomous tech from many established as well from the new entrants. The search is on for a reliable sensor which can work in adverse weather condiƟ ons (fog, rain & dust) and gives adequate navigaƟ onal informaƟ on on terrain and moving objects. Radar is the most reliable sensor in inclement weather as the Radar frequency spectrum is least aff ected by these weather condiƟ ons. Radar has been used in AviaƟ on & Military for many years, where limited numbers of objects were tracked. Present day Radars as used in AutomoƟ ve do not provide enough resoluƟ on to defi ne the shape/size of the object. That’s where the imaging radar helps bridge the gap. 4D imaging radar (which gives locaƟ on, velocity, size & shape) with machine learning enables terrain mapping & object classifi caƟ on.

If your goal is to detect a car in front of you (or driving towards you) and get its velocity, the present RADAR can be suffi cient. However, if you are trying to determine the precise locaƟ on of an item, generate a terrain map,

Figure 1: Imaging Radar Solution Board with Steradian RFIC

like dividers or shoulder fencing, an Imaging Radar will do much beƩ er.

Sensors for Autonomous Driving

There are various sensors used in Automobiles for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving. Table 1 is a comparison of various sensor used in AutomoƟ ve. From the table, it can be inferred that Radar & Camera complements each other and the combinaƟ on is capable of replacing every other sensor technology.

There will be mulƟ ple fusion (Radar plus Camera) sensors used in a car. Front looking imaging radar helps in navigaƟ on through all weather condiƟ ons.

Corner & Side radar helps in lane change & blind spot detecƟ on. These can be nonimaging (Object tracking) radars to lower the cost of the sensor. Steradian IC is cost opƟ mized for both imaging & object tracking radar applicaƟ ons: this fl exibility allows the same chip to cater all applicaƟ ons.

Primary use of Radar Sensor: 1. Front Radar is the most criƟ cal and geƫ ng mandatory by ENCAP in Europe. This serves the important funcƟ on of Collision DetecƟ on,

Warning, MiƟ gaƟ on and Avoidance. 2. Corner & Side Radars take care of the driver by monitoring the threats moving along-side. They are used for blind spot monitoring / blind spot detecƟ on, lane change assistance and lane departure warning system. This can be used for early deployment of airbags in an imminent collision. 3. Rear Radar: These are looking backwards for possible rear ending and Cross Traffi c Alert to help you detect approaching vehicles while backing up.

Differentiation

Steradian focus is in building a world class Imaging Radar System. If one were to develop imaging radar soluƟ on with exisƟ ng Radar ICs, the build cost will run into several hundreds of dollars, whereas with Steradian IC, the cost can be kept 3-4x Ɵ mes lower to enable wider segment adapƟ on. We at Steradian have developed world’s most compact 28nm Millimeter-wave Imaging Radar chip to maximize the pixels per square-mm. The IC developed at Steradian is opƟ mized for Performance, Power & Cost for Imaging Radar. Our fl exible soluƟ on enables a very large number of antenna sensors which brings 4D imaging through Radar to a reality.

On the imaging system side, Steradian has

Table 1: Ranking of various Automotive Sensors (higher is better)

Figure 3: Automotive sensor placement (Courtesy: ADI)

developed & demonstrated the algorithm. Steradian technology is widely appreciated by the industry: Steradian was selected as the winner for the 2017 Qualcomm Design Contest, MG Motors InnovaƟ on Drive 2017, IESA Most InnovaƟ ve Product 2018.

Business Outlook

Worldwide, the AutomoƟ ve Radar market is poised at 20% CAGR*, with >6B$ TAM* projecƟ ons, the radar market presents an opportunity for the innovaƟ on driven startup like Steradian. All major OEMs are including ADAS features in the cars and plan to launch AVs in next 2-3 years. Imaging radar systems as being developed by Steradian fi lls in the need for an all-weather, fail safe, terrain mapping system fundamental to enabling Safe, Assisted and Self driving technology. This soluƟ on has the potenƟ al to bring in a mass market radar revoluƟ on by delivering the technology at the correct price point. Beyond developed countries where the ADAS/Autonomous tech is being swiŌ ly adopted, we see this technology being well placed for developing naƟ ons such as India where poor road condiƟ ons, fog & insuffi cient lighƟ ng causes millions

Figure 4: Steradian 4D radar

of accidents every year. The dire need, the tech and the price point make the imaging radar to see early adopƟ on as a safety device in the aŌ er-market as well. The tech is not limited to road traffi c and can fi nd applicaƟ ons in rail collision avoidance and Drones for surveillance. Gesture recogniƟ on is an interesƟ ng consumer applicaƟ on of the Radar technology.

Automotive safety-Indian context

India has a high road accident rate - the reasons are many and most of which are detectable & preventable using a highresoluƟ on Radar tech. Imagine driving a car in dense fog on a highway with a visibility of 2-3 Meters. Typically, the driver can neither clearly idenƟ fy the vehicle in front, nor can he judge the locaƟ on of the divider gaps for a U turn. In winter, expressways are frequent witness to serious pile-up involving mulƟ ple vehicles due to low visibility. Another common place situaƟ on is of driving on an undivided road at night & blinded by oncoming traffi c highbeams. Steradian 4D Radar technology comes as a life saver due to its ability to map the road space in bad lighƟ ng and inclement weather – the two primary reasons for accidents.

*Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/global-and-china-automotive-millimeterwave-radar-market-2017---market-size-will-hit-nearly usd6-billion-in-2021-300533957.html

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